Argentum

Senior living and care industry representatives are speaking out against racial inequity in response to rising protests across the country following the death of George Floyd and data on COVID-19 cases in long-term care disproportionately affecting minority residents.

“Smart” COVID-19 testing protocols are needed to mitigate infection rates in senior living communities, a new white paper states, and Argentum and the senior living operators it represents are looking to partner with federal and state policymakers to create them.

Nobody in long-term care is begrudging skilled nursing facilities for the $4.9 billion that began flowing to providers on Friday to fight effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, but associations are asking federal and state governments not to forget senior living operators.

Almost one-third (30%) of senior living companies that are members of Argentum or the American Seniors Housing Association still face challenges in securing adequate personal protective equipment in the fight against the coronavirus pandemic, the organizations told the Senate Special Committee on Aging in a statement submitted for the record of the committee’s May 21 hearing, titled “Caring for Seniors Amid the COVID-19 Crisis.” AHCA / NCAL also submitted comments.

More than 36 million Americans have filed initial claims to collect unemployment insurance in the eight weeks ending May 9, according to the Department of Labor. To attract workers from other sectors displaced by the pandemic, Argentum and the American Seniors Housing Association last month launched a new resource powered by Arena, entitled Senior Living FastMatch.
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Although it remains to be seen whether the HEROES Act reaches the president’s desk, five provisions of the original or House-passed bill have a chance of becoming law, according to one source. Read other coronavirus-related news, too.

Representatives of more than 140 senior housing and care operators and members of four associations advocating for U.S. providers are joining forces with other groups in a new effort to provide guidance for safely reopening U.S. and Canadian communities and facilities given COVID-19 considerations.

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